Tara Scurr

Amnesty International is deeply concerned for the safety of land defenders in Guatemala. Six defenders were brutally killed during the last two weeks of May and 12 defenders have lost their lives since January.  It appears that a vicious new wave of attacks against land and water defenders is underway in Guatemala.  

Heightening our worry is the use of language by Guatemala’s President Jimmy Morales to discredit and put down organizations that are working to protect land and environment, such as the Committee for Campesino Development (CODECA) or the Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA).

Sister Maudilia Lopez Cardona, a Catholic sister and land defender from San Miguel Ixtahuacán, near Goldcorp’s Marlin mine, reminded Canadians during a delegation to Canada last month that calling human rights activists names, such as ‘anti-development’, ‘eco-terrorists’, or ‘anti-patriotic’ undermines their legitimate concerns and puts them at high risk of attack.

Rafael Maldonado is a passionate advocate for justice, Indigenous rights and a healthy environment. He defends people who are attacked or criminalized for trying to protect their lands and waters from unwanted mining, hydro, or agricultural projects. In Santa Rosa, a rich agricultural region of south-eastern Guatemala, he defends the rights of people who worry that a Canadian silver mine is polluting and drying up their water sources. Several people in the communities surrounding the mine have been killed, shot, attacked, threatened and thrown in jail on false charges. 

Because of his work at the Centre for Social, Environmental and Legal Action, to defend their rights and support their cause, he has been threatened, his colleagues shot, robbed or killed, and has had shots fired into a car outside his house. Amnesty International is very concerned about his safety.